Vehicles are assembled in assembly plants with a green, i.e., an unused and empty, fuel tank. Once assembly of the vehicle is complete, the fuel tank is at least partially filled with fuel, typically a fossil fuel. Fossil fuels include Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), such as hydrocarbons. VOCs are organic chemical compounds that have a high enough vapor pressure under normal conditions to significantly vaporize and enter the atmosphere. VOCs are considered an air pollutant, and the level of VOCs present in the air is often regulated by governmental agencies for air quality purposes.
The green fuel tanks are initially empty, i.e., contain only air. During initial fueling of the green fuel tanks, the fuel is dispensed into the fuel tank as a spray. The sprayed fuel instantaneously flashes and mixes with the air in the fuel tank, such that the entire fuel tank is filled with an air/fuel mixture. As the fuel tank is filled, a volume of the air/fuel vapor mixture is exhausted from the fuel tank into the manufacturing plant. Accordingly, the process of filling the green fuel tanks in the assembly plant introduces VOCs into the manufacturing plant through the air/fuel vapor mixture exhausted from the fuel tanks during the fuel tank filling process.